For many of us, we know the opening narrative to Star Trek by memory: “Space, the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its 5-year mission to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before” (https://www.americanrhetoric.com/MovieSpeeches/startrekintro.html) . [Here is a YouTube showing the opening to the first Star Trek television show: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIQsrvW6Ji4] By the way, the line “…to boldly go where no man has…” was changed in “… 1987 with Star Trek: The Next Generation; the wording was changed to '… where no one has gone before' [in response to accusations of sexism]” (https://ideas.repec.org). What does it mean “to boldly go”?
The Oxford Reference Dictionary defines this term: “Explore freely, unhindered by fear of the unknown” (https://www.oxfordreference.com). Interestingly, the quote “to boldly go where no one has gone before” seems to have been ‘borrowed’ by the creator of Star Trek, Gene Roddenberry, from a 1957-1958 USA government pamphlet. Or perhaps Mr. Roddenberry acquired it from a line in “H.P. Lovecraft's novella The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath” (https://scifi.stackexchange.com/questions). Grammarians often cringe at the use of the split infinitive, “to boldly go”, but, the split infinitive has become more acceptable in informal writing and still a grammatical error in formal writing, such as in university classes and in scholarly research and theses. For a deep dive on the split infinitive, open this link: https://www.niu.edu/writingtutorial/grammar/split-infinitives.shtml#:~:text=Rule%20to%20Remember,this%20has%20become%20more%20acceptable.
How do others define “to boldly go”? Consultant Billy Glaswell shares, “If my life were a Star Trek spin-off, the opening sequence would include ‘To Boldly Go Where Most Do Not.’ (Boldly being the keyword in that line.) Most of the social challenges humans have can be corrected by simply learning the art of being bold” (https://hypnosisforhumans.com/articles/to-boldly-go).
Ian Flynn, writer / speaker, explains, “What does it mean to be bold? In business, in our lives, in our daily interactions? A split-infinitive it may be, but to boldly go in life is no mean feat. It means taking risks in the pursuit to get things done, to blaze a trail whilst maybe challenging the status quo. Boldness is opposite to fearfulness. It is a leadership trait all in itself. It is interesting to reflect on the meaning of being ‘bold,' in an age of what often appears characterised by endless ‘me-too’ propositions, homogeneous offers, similar ways of doing things and ‘markets group think.’ Often, it would seem the well-trodden paths are the paths the majority prefer to tread. But is that always the best course to chart? In a world already full of ubiquitous ‘sameness.’ …But it in life, I find it is not about ‘being bold’ for its own sake that really cuts through. It’s about being bold when it matters to be bold. To, in turn, make that critical difference.
Here are three reasons which I have learnt that, by being bold, that critical difference can ensue:
1. To be bold is to be clear in our intent: it is very hard to ‘strike new ground’ if we aren’t going to be bold in doing that: boldness demands clarity. As in this territory, risks are always present: but are there to be faced.
2. To be bold is to fly in the face of fear: fear can scuttle us. Before an action even flows. Fear of failure/ fear to act/ paralysis by analysis are all procrastinating products of fearfulness. To be bold is to take acceptable risks in the name of moving forward. The by-product of which is to relegate fear to the side lines; whilst the adrenaline of action takes centre stage.
3. To be bold is to learn and continually evolve: since an in-built element of being bold is to take measured risks in support of incremental progress, we cannot help but evolve whilst we adopt this mindset. In the product world (and particularly in the sphere of #lean start ups) the principle to ‘build-test-learn’ is often supported by an acceptance to ‘#FailFast’- to eliminate what won’t work, quickly. So that it removes that distraction from valid progress in a direction that will work/ pay back. This approach requires boldness (of intent, direction, execution) to succeed: the very opposite of fearfulness.
So there are dividends to be gained in the bold road choice. ‘To boldly go’ may not always be the most appropriate choice in all scenarios- for a whole host of reasons. As in many things in life, a bold choice is to choose when to be bold, wisely. But to choose to never be bold, ever, at all? How can that be bold enough?
So to be bold, if I may” (https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/boldly-go-ian-finn-cspo-fcim-digital-product-transformation?trk=public_post).
Here are some famous people who failed, went boldly, and then succeeded:
Walt Disney - “Walt Disney was fired from the Kansas City Star because his editor felt he ‘lacked imagination and had no good ideas’” (https://www.businessinsider.com/successful-people-who-failed-at-first-2015-7#walt-disney-was-fired-from-the-kansas-city-star-because-his-editor-felt-he-lacked-imagination-and-had-no-good-ideas-1).
Oprah Winfrey - “Oprah Winfrey was publicly fired from her first television job as an anchor in Baltimore for getting ‘too emotionally invested in her stories’” (see citation above).
Steven Spielberg - “Steven Spielberg was rejected by the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts multiple times” (see citation above).
Vera Wang - “Vera Wang failed to make the 1968 US Olympic figure-skating team. Then she became an editor at Vogue, but was passed over for the editor-in-chief position” (see citation above) .
Thomas Edison - “Thomas Edison's teachers told him he was ‘too stupid to learn anything’” (see citation above) .
Sidney Poitier - “When Sidney Poitier first auditioned for the American Negro Theatre, he flubbed his lines and spoke in a heavy Caribbean accent, which made the director angrily tell him to stop wasting his time and go get a job as a dishwasher “(see citation above) .
Albert Einstein - “As a child, Albert Einstein had some difficulty communicating and learning in a traditional manner” (see citation above) .
Theodor Seuss Geisel - “Theodor Seuss Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss, had his first book rejected by 27 different publishers” (see citation above) .
Lady Gaga - “Lady Gaga got dropped by her record label, Island Def Jam, after 3 months. Upon receiving the news, she ‘cried so hard she couldn't talk’” (see citation above) .
Stephanie Meyer - “Before the Twilight series broke sales records, author Stephanie Meyer faced the failure of rejection — multiple times. Meyer wrote 15 letters to literary agencies and received 14 rejections” (https://www.bonnielowkramen.com/2014/02/11/7-influential-women-failed-succeeded/).
Ann Wintour - “The legendary Vogue editor-in-chief was fired from her junior editor position at Harper's Bazaar in 1975 for her photo shoots, which some say were too edgy” (https://www.glamour.com/story/famous-women-failure).
Beyonce’ - “Back when she was just 12 years old, Beyoncé was part of a group called Girls Tyme that performed on a 1993 episode of the talent TV show Star Search, and she lost” (see citation above) .
Michael Jordan - “ In high school, Jordan was initially overlooked and cut from the varsity basketball team. This setback could have crushed his spirit, but instead, it ignited a fire within him. He says, ‘I can accept failure, everyone fails at something. But, I can’t accept not trying’” (https://manlyzine.com/interview/michael-jordan-a-story-of-success-determination-and-resilience/#aioseo-the-early-years-a-foundation-of-resilience).
I tell people that I’m the ‘Queen of Starting Over.’ While I’m certainly not famous and haven’t achieved the highest levels of success the way the people highlighted in the previous paragraph have, I have had “to go boldly” most of my life. About those times in my younger years when I chose not to go boldly, I look back and wince a little. Who knows what might have been the outcome if I had gone boldly through the failures, the obstacles, the challenges? I don’t beat myself up over the choices to slink off afraid to keep trying. That was then. Now, if I’ve paid attention. failures taught lessons, provided guidance, offered support, blessed me with encouragement, and I learned how to use failures, challenges, obstacles for my growth. And, I’m not saying this only about the extraordinary feats in life; I’m talking about every day, stepping out going boldly. Now, I know that when I step out to boldly go, God/Goddess/the Universe, Spirit Guides / Angels and friends who support and care deeply for me are there to cheer me on as I boldly go.
How do you define and apply the phrase, “to boldly go”? What are examples, great and small, of times you did not and times you did go boldly? What were the outcomes? Please share your thoughts, insights, and suggestions by either commenting below this post if you are reading this on social media, or, if you are reading this through your email subscription, please share, by emailing me, at reimaginelife22@gmail.com.
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